rome museums, and pre purchasing tickets

The Scavi tour under St. Peter's Basilica is one that you should prebook months in advance.

sorry, Scavi is what I meant when I said Vatican Museum, and I have that one already. Thanks

The National Museum of Rome would be good to pre-book. Absolutely aweseome museum.

I usually tell folks visiting to pre-book only the Scavi and the Galleria Borghese. Both of these "require" a reservation as they have limited entry times and numbers. Other than that, there are really very few musuems/sites you need to pre-book. If you go to the Vatican Museums, you can strategically schedule your visit to avoid the lines. Do you need to buy a Skip-the-Line ticket? For some, if they are limited by time, can only go on a holiday week, or on a Monday - then the answer may be yes. But I've been well over 100 times into the Museums and only bought skip-the-line tickets two or three times. It's all about timing. If you are going without a tour, you might read this post for some hints. Likewise, with some planning you can avoid lines at the Colosseo and Forum. Ticket offices open at 8:30 AM for these and your tickets are good for 48 hours. Don't buy your tickets at the Colosseo... it always has the longest lines. Head for the Forum or Palatine Hill entrance for tickets. After 10:30 AM on a summer day, these entry points may also have lines - but they will still be far shorter than the Colosseo. The Roma Pass can allow you to "skip-the-lines" at multiple sites and is a good buy IF you plan on using the transportation segment for the three days. Read this for more discount pass options and suggestions. You do not need to purchase your Roma Pass in advance. They are available in many spots and you can even use your credit card if you pick them up at a Tourist Information Booth. So you really DO NOT need to pay extra - or loose your fleibility- for easy entry to many sites in Rome. Part of enjoying Rome is to avoid the run-from-site-to-site rush!